Latest news with #AsburyPark
Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Glamorous lifeguard impaled by beach umbrella speaks out from hospital to relive freak accident
After being violently impaled by an umbrella, a New Jersey lifeguard has vowed to return to the beach, despite her injuries. The 18-year-old, Alex, who only gave her first name, spoke out about her near-death experience after being stabbed through the arm in a freak accident at Asbury Park Beach Wednesday morning. Alex was attempting to secure an umbrella from her lifeguard chair when the wind picked up and she lost control of it. She fell down onto the aluminum pole while trying to keep it from blowing away. The one-inch wide rod went through her armpit and out of her back, leaving Alex lying on the beach, impaled. 'So we have umbrellas on stands for hot days and we usually have ropes tied to each of them so you can tie them to the stands,' she told ABC7. 'But the rope was frayed, and it was a little too short to tie, and a gust of wind came. It wasn't particularly strong, but the wind came and picked the umbrella up and I tried to catch it as it was going off the stand, but it pulled me off of it with it and I landed on the pole.' First responders quickly arrived on the scene, paramedics gave Alex medicine for her pain and firefighters sawed off the ends of the pole to make her injury more manageable, securing the one foot piece lodged under her arm. Officials said Alex was 'conscious, alert, and in good spirits', as she was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey. 'I was kind of a little freaked out at first and my brain got heavy because I was like, "oh my gosh, I've been impaled,"' she said. Alex underwent surgery and received a few stitches. She said the pole missed a crucial artery by only a centimeter but she's already home and recovering. 'I was very lucky where it hit me because it missed every major blood vessel and nerve. It just went through my muscle,' she said. 'So there wasn't any serious damage. It could've been so much worse, actually.' First responders, fellow lifeguards, and onlookers admired her attitude through the whole incident. Her colleagues called her tiny but strong. Asbury Park Beach Safety Supervisor Joe Bongiovanni said he was unsurprised by her positive attitude during the accident. 'She's one of those people that's always upbeat, always smiling. I've never seen her without a smile on her face.' Alex wanted to encourage beachgoers to secure their umbrellas, especially on windy days. Local fire Chief Kevin Keddy told ABC News, Alex was a 'tough young woman'. 'I feel like I tend to do pretty well in stressful, chaotic situations,' Alex said. Alex hopes to return to her post in just six weeks. It's her second summer lifeguarding at Asbury Park Beach, but she's been doing it since she was 15. 'I was bummed when I found out I had to take six weeks off,' she said. 'I'm definitely planning on going back as soon as I can.' Alex, who just finished her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, wanted to use her story to encourage beachgoers to be conscious of their umbrellas.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Lifeguard, 18, impaled by beach umbrella recalls horror and reveals pole missed artery by a centimeter in freak accident
A LIFEGUARD impaled by a beach umbrella has recalled she was lucky to survive following the freak accident. Alex, a college student, revealed the umbrella's pole missed her artery by just one centimeter as she spoke about the horror. 2 She was trying to tie the umbrella to a stand on the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey, but encountered problems, as reported by the ABC affiliate WABC-TV. Alex wanted to protect herself from the heat as temperatures hovered around 95F on Wednesday. But, the rope she was using to tie the umbrella to the stand was frayed. But, the umbrella was then picked up by a gust of wind. Alex revealed that she tried to catch the umbrella but ended up landing on the pole. The pole went through her shoulder and her back. The 18-year-old admitted her brain was 'heavy' after realizing what had happened. 'I was like 'oh my gosh, I've been impaled,' she told WABC-TV. She admitted that she was fortunate her injuries weren't more serious. 'I was very lucky where it hit me because it missed every major blood vessel and it just went through my muscles,' she said. 'The pole was very close to major blood vessels,' the teen told the CBS affiliate WCBS-TV. 'It was a half a centimeter away from at least one major blood vessel. 'It could've been so much worse, actually.' Alex revealed that a band saw was used to get parts of the six-foot-long pole from out of her armpit. The pole had to be cut before the girl was taken to the hospital. Beachgoers were left stunned by what had happened. 'As a mother of teenagers, it's so shocking and scary,' Nancy Brillo told WABC-TV. Her injuries means she won't be able to return to lifeguarding duties for around six weeks. She had just finished her first year at the University of Wisconsin. But, Alex hasn't been put off returning to the beach despite the accident. 2
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Teen lifeguard impaled by umbrella pole on Asbury Park, N.J. beach says she was "just trying not to freak out"
A New Jersey lifeguard who was impaled by an umbrella left a hospital on Thursday and later recounted the terrifying ordeal. Asking to be identified only as "Alex," the 18-year-old shared a hospital photo of her holding up a piece of the pole that went through her arm on Asbury Park Beach on Wednesday. "It missed almost everything important, so no nerves, tendons or arteries were hit," Alex said in a phone interview with CBS News New York's Christine Sloan. She said she knows she's lucky to be alive after the 6-foot umbrella pole went through her armpit. "The pole was very close to, um, major blood vessels. I was told, like, it was a half a centimeter away from at least one major blood vessel," Alex said. Here's what she says happened The second-year college student said she was tying the umbrella to the lifeguard stand to shield herself from the intense heat, when the bizarre accident occurred. "But our rope was frayed ... too short to tie," she said. "A gust of wind came and moved the umbrella off of the stand. I went to catch it and it pulled me off the stand with it and I landed on the pole." Alex said fellow lifeguards had to hold the open umbrella and pole steady so it wouldn't do more damage. Paramedics quickly arrived. "Going to need that bandsaw for sure down here," she recounted one of the first responders saying. "They took a bandsaw and cut both ends so there was less pole sticking out of me, so they could transport me easier." Alex somehow kept calm during the entire ordeal Kate Hagerman, of the lifeguard station at Asbury Beach Park, said she was stunned by what happened, and was even more surprised by how Alex handled it. "She was very calm. She stayed calm throughout the whole thing and alert, too, which is crazy usually. If I was in that situation, I was, but I think as a lifeguard that is very important and shows a lot about her character," Hagerman said. When asked how she kept her composure, Alex said, "I have no idea. I was just trying not to freak out. I feel like I am that kind of person where panicking, I am just calm." Alex said she's grateful to fellow lifeguards and the paramedics, and plans on going back to her lifeguard duties after her six-week recovery because her job is rewarding.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Female lifeguard impaled with beach umbrella in freak accident
A young female lifeguard was impaled by a six-foot-long beach umbrella in a freak accident that left first responders scrambling to help her on a Jersey Shore. The tragic incident occurred as temperatures surged on the 3rd Avenue Beach on Wednesday in Asbury Park, New Jersey just after 9:30am. Officials believe the 20-year-old lifeguard fell off her chair as she was trying to set the large chair umbrella into place. Speaking to 7Online, lifeguard Joe Bongiovanni said: 'It was just a freak thing, as she was putting it in, the gust caught it, pulled it up, so when she grabbed it she was off-balance. 'She was on the top step of the bench, so she fell backwards off the bench and the umbrella came with her when she came down and landed on her arm.' According to Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy, the lifeguard was struck with such force that the metal stake of the umbrella penetrated under her left armpit and burst through her back, sticking out almost one foot. What followed was an agonizing and complex rescue. Lifeguards and EMS crews quickly arrived but realized there was no way to safely move the victim while she was still impaled. Paramedics and firefighters brought in a portable bandsaw and had to cut the stake at the entry and exit points in order to fit her into the ambulance without causing further trauma. Chief Keddy said: 'The umbrella went underneath her left shoulder and out the back. It was protruding by about a foot.' First responders went onto the sands, shielding the woman from the sun with towels and umbrellas of their own while carefully slicing away the metal rod with surgical precision. Keddy said: 'We had to saw off the stake from the front and the back to make it more manageable. We bandaged her up and transported her to the hospital.' Despite the horror of her injuries, officials said the woman was 'conscious, alert, and in good spirits - all things considered,' as she was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Beach umbrellas have a spiked end to help better secure them into the sand as their wide canopy allows them to get caught up in a strong wind if they are not anchored properly, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. With their spiked ends and large surface areas, a sudden gust can transform them into airborne spears. The federal agency estimates about 3,000 people are injured by windblown beach umbrellas every year. In 2022, 63-year-old Tammy Perreault was killed in South Carolina when an umbrella broke free from its anchoring and impaled her in the chest. Similarly, in 2016, Lottie Michelle Belk, 55, died on a Virginia Beach after a loose umbrella struck her in the torso. Such tragic accidents have sparked renewed calls for stricter regulations on beach umbrella safety, including mandatory sand anchors, public awareness campaigns, and designated 'umbrella zones' where people must secure canopies properly or face fines.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Freak umbrella accident leaves lifeguard impaled in beach day horror
A beach day turned into a scene straight out of a horror movie for a lifeguard after she was impaled by an umbrella. The incident happened Wednesday morning at Asbury Park's 3rd Avenue Beach, where first responders were called to the Jersey Shore for reports a young woman was trapped by a beach umbrella. Fellow lifeguards found the young woman lying on the ground near the lifeguard stand with an umbrella stake through her left shoulder and sticking out the back of her arm by about a foot, Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy told Fox News Digital. Keddy said first responders cut the umbrella stake off to make it easier to transport the victim to a hospital. Paramedics transported the victim, who was alert and conscious the entire time, to a local hospital, Keddy said. "I will say tough is a good word to use to describe her," Keddy said. While her condition was unknown, Keddy said she seemed to be doing OK when she was taken to the hospital. It was not known what caused the umbrella to impale the lifeguard, but Keddy recommended making sure umbrella stakes are securely placed in the sand. According to a 2024 report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, airborne beach umbrella incidents have become "too common" in recent years. The commission stated that beach umbrellas that have been sent airborne by wind gusts have "killed people and caused many serious injuries." The commission also shared tips for consumers to protect themselves, like always making sure umbrellas are anchored properly and to be alert for high wind gusts. Fox News Digital reached out to the Asbury Park Beach office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
